Devil track and field hits its stride at Sac Invitational
By Annie Mitchell,
BlueDevilHUB.com Editor–
The track at American River College still hasn’t cleared from the smoke that the Davis High track and field team left from its fire performance at the Sacramento Meet of Champions on April 28. To great success, many DHS runners and jumpers, as well as one thrower, competed during the open meet during the day and the invitational meet in the evening.
Junior Juan Zarate-Sanchez was one Devil that exceeded even his own expectations during the invitational 800 meter dash. His goal was to set a personal record by finishing in 1:54, but he ended up winning the race with a 1:52.78.
For reference, the DHS school record for the men’s 800 meters is 1:51.59, just a little more than a second quicker than Zarate-Sanchez’s time.
“I feel really proud actually,” Zarate-Sanchez said. “My mentor, [senior] Jeremy [Falk], just told me to go out hard.”
For the first 100 meters, the Devil runner was thinking only about the place that he wanted in the race. He led the first lap with a 55.872 split.
“The second lap this guy got in front of me and I just wanted to stay with him,” Zarate-Sanchez said. “He pulled away like twice, but the last 150 meters I would say, that’s when I just told myself I really wanted first place so I just chased him down and got it.”
Zarate-Sanchez plans on making it to the CIF State Meet in early June. The at-large time to qualify for the meet is a 1:54.68.
“I’m pretty excited for that,” Zarate-Sanchez said. “From now on I think I will just focus on that, not push myself to the limit before States, maybe at Masters if I have to, but until then it’s just just training and getting better off my injury.”
Another Devil prospect for the 2018 State Meet is junior Hannah Lybbert, who won the high jump invitational at last weekend’s meet by clearing 5 feet, 5 inches in just two attempts– a personal record.
“The place doesn’t matter to me as much as the personal best does,” Lybbert said.
Lybbert is pumped for the postseason, especially since she enjoys the competitive nature of invitational meets.
“There’s girls from all over the place but I know them because of all the other invitationals I’ve been to over the years,” Lybbert said. “We’re all super supportive of each other and it’s just nice to be in that environment where it’s a little bit more focused than league meets.”
Though her season has been full of “ups and downs,” Lybbert believes that the weight training she has been doing is beginning to pay off.
“I’ve noticed that as we’ve done more weight training, I’ve been able to jump higher. It’s really rewarding when you work super hard and you get to do super well,” Lybbert said.
Freshman Shay Hawkes also jumped 5 feet, 5 inches for the first time to take second place in the open meet.
To access the full results of the meet, visit Sacramento Meet of Champions Results.
